You may have noticed that I’ve been traveling a lot lately. In fact, these days we’re away more than we’re home (I’m not complaining!). For the most part, this is nothing new for Fred Baby and me – after all, our shared desire to explore the world has always been a key factor in our relationship and even appeared in our wedding vows (and has prompted friends to nickname us The Gatsbys, though hopefully with a better ending!).

But last year, when I kept getting sick every other week, it put a serious halt on things. Trips were cancelled. Wanderlusting became couchbedding. And, most crushing, I missed out on sitting next to Jon Hamm on a flight from New York (the agony!!!).

The silver lining and lesson learned, however, was that it’s so important to appreciate your health and not take it for granted – and to take full advantage during the good times…to live out your wanderlusties because you never know when that could all change. Luckily, I’ve gotten all my health hiccups ironed out and have been feeling the best I have in years (knock on wood), so I’ve been on the go, go, go. In the last few months alone, we’ve been so, so, so lucky to visit Maui, London, Rome, Amalfi, Capri, New York and Texas — and we’ll be heading out on another adventure abroad next week (details to come!).

But what you may find surprising is that in all of these travels, I only ever pack what will fit into carry-on luggage. Really. I literally go lightly!

Not only does that mean no headaches with lost luggage, but it means a lot less lugging of bags – and when you’re constantly on the go, that is crucial. Unless you enjoy back pain, less is more. A few years back, when we took a year off to travel, we only took carry-on luggage as well. For a whole year! It is SO freeing. I know that may seem challenging, but once you get the hang of it and stick to a few simple guidelines, you’ll be a packing pro.

Here are a few tips to get you on your way + what to pack for a summer getaway…

5 Tips for Packing Light:

Pick a color palette and stick to it (I’ve been doing blue, white and black).

Pack pieces that can be layered, worn over and over again & in multiple ways. (This oversized summer scarfis genius.)

Pack bags within bags. Like a Turducken, I often put a lightweight, malleable bag like this or this (which I use as a beach bag, backpack, or overflow bag for souvenirs) inside of my larger weekender, and then a small crossbody inside of it.

Wear your bulkiest items onto the plane (coat, hat, shoes) to take up less room in your luggage.

20 pieces for effortless-chic style that will take you from the city to the beach:

crossbody bag – there’s nothing worse than carrying a heavy purse all day; instead use this to stash essentials (credit card, passport, phone, lipgloss) & easily fits in a larger bag as your wallet (cute too); for night remove the strap and use as a clutch

oversized summer scarf – to keep you both warm on the plane & at night plus does double duty as a sarong, impromptu beach blanket or headscarf (also get it here & here)

I am with you Kelly – keep calm and carry on. Always! Learned this the hard way after traveling by myself through Italy where there are stairs everywhere! And these are great versatile and stylish picks!
Jessicahttp://www.thebellevoyage.com